Georgia’s Saakashvili dismisses PM
Mon 27 Oct 2008, 13:40 GMT
By Margarita Antidze
TBILISI (Reuters) – Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has dismissed reformist Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze, a senior government source said on Monday, under a government overhaul following war with Russia in August.
The announcement will be made at 6.00 p.m. (2 p.m. British time), the source told Reuters, adding that Saakashvili would name Grigol Mgaloblishvili, Georgia’s 35-year-old ambassador to Turkey, as his choice for the post.
Gurgenidze, a 37-year-old pro-Western technocrat and former banker, became prime minister of the former Soviet republic in November 2007 with the chief task of attracting foreign investment and keeping the country’s economic growth rates high.
A five-day war in August, when Moscow sent troops and tanks into its southern neighbour to halt a Georgian offensive to retake breakaway South Ossetia, has hit investor confidence and reined in otherwise healthy growth forecasts.
Georgia’s pro-Western president, who came to power in the 2003 “Rose Revolution,” is facing increasing criticism from opposition leaders. They accuse Saakashvili of walking into a war Georgia could not possibly win.
Some opposition factions have announced a protest for November 7, the first anniversary of a police crackdown against opposition demonstrators.
(Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Source: www.reuters.com, 27 Oct 2008